myth of WWII

A detailed Summary of myth of WWII

Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II.

Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that "there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books." (115) It was a golden era when all Americans set aside their differences and united for a common cause which everyone put above all other priorities. The United States Army was thought of as more advanced in fighting ability, weapons, and supposedly held to a higher standard of ethics on the front. Americans that did die, died in "an antiseptic, clean, neat way . . . gloriously." (100) Soldiers weren't blown apar

t into pieces, they died honorably and nobly.

The most tragic aspect of the myth of "the best war ever" is the lack of reverence devoted to the men who died and survived horror of the battlefield. To simply point to the economic prosperity sparked by the war is utterly ignorant. The cost of so much blood is much too high to justify with material goods. The picture at home was not perfect, nor did it even approach perfection, as so many believe. The dilemmas were much the same as they were before and after the war. However, we should also not forget that despite the myth, that was the generation which saved the world from tyrannical military dictators.

The reality under the cover of myth was repulsive. ". . . the coast was littered with shattered boats, tanks, trucks, rations, packs, buttocks, thighs, torsos, hands, heads." (101) Americans never witnessed the carnage. To add insult to injury, when soldiers on leave told of these horrors, they were considered cowards and victims of "momism." Contrary to popular belief, US soldiers were not as ethical in their behavior and tactics as believed. "GIs fathered tens of thousands of illegitimate children" and "took advantage of women's desperate need for food, cigarettes, and even clothing to trade them for sex." (93-94) Surely such immoral behavior was not depicted in the movies and neither was the horror that led soldiers to lose all respect for human life on the battlefield. "Garbage was dumped on the enemy dead, and men urinated into their mouths." (112) The truth behind the home front was equall

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Approximate Word count = 1059
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History